THE EXECUTIVE COMPUTER

THE EXECUTIVE COMPUTER; The 'Model T' Still Has Some Life

By Peter H. Lewis

Published: September 13, 1987

VISITORS came to the PC Expo '87 exhibition in New York earlier this month seeking solutions for their companies' personal computer needs. But many of them were overwhelmed by the sudden proliferation of hardware and software choices and went home with more questions than answers.

One such visitor seemed to be carrying a particularly heavy load of woe. ''I'm supposed to be buying computers for a small company, but look around at this mess,'' he said, waving his arms toward the crowded exhibit hall. This poor soul asked that his name not be used, so we'll call him Le Miserable.

''One expert says I'd be a fool to buy anything less than an 80286 machine, since it's going to be the lowest common denominator for OS/2 when it arrives,'' he said. The 80286 designates the Intel microprocessor that is the heart of computers in the class of the I.B.M. AT, and OS/2 refers to the new operating system software being developed jointly by the International Business Machines Corporation and the Microsoft Corporation.

Many analysts believe that OS/2, which I.B.M. says will be available in the spring, will eventually become the standard microcomputer operating system for businesses.

Pointing at another side of the hall, Le Miserable continued: ''Then I walk to the next booth, where I hear another expert tell me that the 80286 is, always has been and always will be a brain-damaged chip and that OS/2 won't be worth beans until it's plugged into an 80386 machine.'' The 80386, one of the most powerful chips in a desktop personal computer, is used in such costly machines as the I.B.M. PS/2 Model 80, the Compaq Deskpro 386 and the PC's Limited 386.

Le Mis pointed to another side of the hall. ''The next expert tells me that I don't need OS/2 anyway,'' he said. ''He said it's not going to mean anything to me until 1989 at the earliest, and he tells me I should just buy the cheapest 8088 machines I can find and wait until 80386 machines come down in price.'' The 8088 and 8086 chips are used in the low-cost PC clones and in the I.B.M. PS/2 Models 25 and 30.

So, in the course of a day, Le Mis had been presented with three compelling arguments on why he should not buy any of the machines that account for more than 85 percent of the personal computers installed in American businesses.

This sort of perceived quandary must warm the hearts of the folks at Apple Computer, whose Macintosh computers, especially the Mac II, are emerging as viable alternatives to the PC series.

But Apple was not a tangible factor at PC Expo, a showcase for I.B.M.-style machines and the I.B.M.-style executives who buy them. Thus, let's focus on the real question Le Miserable was asking, which is also being asked by people in big corporations, small businesses, schools and homes - ''What computer should I buy?''

ARE the 8088 machines, including the industry-standard PC and XT computers, obsolete? After all, even I.B.M. has abandoned them in favor of the PS/2 line.

The answer is no. The PC is the perfect machine for anyone for whom price is the main concern, especially if the computer is going to be used primarily for one basic application, such as word processing. Fast 8088-based PC's are available for less than $1,000, while 80286 machines cost about twice as much.

True, the 8088 will eventually be as outdated as the Model T Ford, but then again so will the 80286 and 80386 chips. There's still some life left in the 8088, particularly if it is used for the computing equivalent of driving to the grocery store and back.

Keep in mind, too, that if and when the need arises to do more tasks, such as spreadsheets or data bases, that would benefit from more powerful chips, several options are available to increase the power of the PC to AT levels.

The newest such product is the Mach 20, an accelerator board priced under $500 that Microsoft will start shipping this month. The Mach 20 includes an 80286 chip and space for up to 3.5 megabytes of random access memory; it comes with 512K as standard.

The 80286 and the memory just coincidentally happen to satisfy all the hardware requirements for running Microsoft's future OS/2 operating system, a version of which will be customized for the Mach 20.

The 286 is faster than the unadorned 8088, and that is an important consideration for businesses. According to figures gathered by Nolan Norton & Company and presented at PC Expo by the Lotus Development Corporation, outlays for hardware and software represent just a small part of the costs involved in operating a PC in today's corporation.

According to the survey, it costs a corporation about $7,500 a year to buy and own each personal computer, assuming the cost of the hardware is depreciated over three years. Technical support costs make up a big chunk of that number. But the total cost of operating that personal computer soars to $19,000 a year, the survey found, when the cost of user time is considered. That includes the operator's wages, training time and all the minutes spent waiting for a spreadsheet to churn through its calculations.

With this analysis, then, the additional hardware cost of buying a 286 machine is insignificant, in the long run, compared to the hidden cost of paying an operator to twiddle his or her thumbs at a slower computer.

Of course, that argument also points to equipping everyone in the office with 80386 machines - but that would be a clear case of overkill. For the time being, the expensive 386 machines should appeal mainly to rocket scientists, speed freaks and ''heat-seeking technology maniacs,'' in the words of Graham Beachum Jr., senior vice president of the Dell Computer Corporation, which makes the PC's Limited family of computers.

So, Le Miserable, there is a little bit of truth in each of the arguments you heard. If money is the prime consideration and if the tasks are mundane, buy one of the cheap but reputable PC clones. It can always be upgraded if your needs get more demanding, but for the next couple of years, until the 80386's fall in price, it will do the job.

But if you frequently use spreadsheets and data bases or perform other time-consuming tasks, and if there is a little stretch in your budget, it makes sense to buy a faster and more expandable machine, and that means an 80286. It will serve you well for several years to come.